Infusion pumps provide a significant lifestyle benefit for individuals requiring multiple deliveries of volumetrically proportioned medication to their body over a period of time. Infusion pumps reliably dispense the required medication to the patient through an infusion path established between the patient and the pump. The infusion path is a conduit secured to the pump system at one end and secured intravenously or subcutaneously to a patient on the other. The operation of the infusion pump is controlled by a processor. The processor controls the delivery of periodic dosages of medication to a patient at predetermined times. Thus, a patient is able to rely on the infusion pump for delivering the required dosage of medication intravenously or subcutaneously over a period of time. In this way, the patient need not interrupt life activities for repeated manual delivery of required medication.
As is known, infusion pumps often employ a piston-type drive mechanism for urging the contents of a pharmaceutical cartridge or “syringe assembly” internal to the pump along the infusion path to the subject. The piston-type drive selectively drives the syringe plunger to dispense a desired amount of fluid from the syringe housing.